1*4 power connector

prolfe

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Hi everyone! A friend brought me a Gateway PC that wasn't working anymore and asked me to fix it. When I tried to boot it up, the power light on the front of the case lit but nothing came on inside the case. I hooked up a different PSU to the system, one I use for testing, and it came right on! So far so good I know she needs a new PSU. However, the BIOS gave me a warning message which said something about a 2*12 or 2*10 power connector. It said Intel recommends the 2*12 or 2*10 and not the 1*4 alternate power connector. Any idea what this means? I can say that the PC is running great, and that after several reboots the message will not come back. I just don't want to send the PC back without being confident it won't error out in the future!
 

pwnage

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Is there a 4 pin molex or square 4 pin connector on the mother board.

If so you need to plug that in or the CPU wont get enough power.

It could also be that your using a 20 pin power supply insted of a 24 pin.
 

prolfe

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There is a 4-pin connector next to the CPU and the PSU had a 4-pin so I hooked it up. I don't know what to say about the 20 pin or 24 pin connectors, except to say that the PSU plug completely fills the port on the motherboard. Also, the system is running well, and I have read that these systems shouldn't boot if the CPU doesn't have the 4-pin hookup.
 

hergieburbur

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Dec 19, 2005
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Is there a 4 pin molex or square 4 pin connector on the mother board.

If so you need to plug that in or the CPU wont get enough power.

It could also be that your using a 20 pin power supply insted of a 24 pin.

Based on what the OP said, this is incorrect advice. The 2*10 is a 20 pin connector for the mobo. The 2*12 is a 24 pin connector for the mobo. I am not sure what they mean by 1*4. it could either be the 4pin square connector (this is probably it), or a standard Molex. however, you say the BIOS says not to use this connector.

In this case, you should use a 24 pin main power connector PSU, and you should be fine. The extra 4 pins on the main perform essentially the same function as the 4 pin, (or at least can, depending on the mobo design).

They both provide 12v power. The new spec uses one for the CPU power, and one for the mobo and other components. This prevents more than 20Amps or so from being drawn on one rail. Using the both is not strictly necesary depening on the motherboard design. (I am sure this is more than you want to know).